FALCON REP ADDRESSES SCOTT CITY CABLE PROBLEMS

SCOTT CITY -- The cable guy made a house call Monday night to the Scott City Council meeting.

Kevin Goetz, chief engineer for Falcon Telecable, told the council that cable problems that have plagued the Scott City area might begin to clear up by July 1.

Goetz said 98 percent of the new cables and amplifiers have been laid, including fiber optic cables, and the company is waiting for a permit to be approved from the railroad before the operation can be completed. He said the new cables will run beneath railroad tracks near Highway 61, and the company needs to have clearance to run them.

Goetz said the process is being delayed because the railroad company is in the process of moving its office.

Falcon cable is also doing away with all but one tower that will serve Scott County from Sikeston. The current Scott City cable tower will be removed after the lease runs out.

Service from one tower, Goetz said, will make it easier for the company to monitor its service. Also, Scott City customers will be able to get some channels that have not been offered in the area before, like the Science Fiction Channel and ESPN-2.

Council member Marsha Zimmerman said she hopes that doesn't mean cable rates will be rising again. She said it seems every time she gets a bill her rates have gone up a few pennies.

Goetz said he would check to see what the rates would do once the new cable is completed. The council requested a comparison between the channels offered in Sikeston and Scott City and the differences in the rates between the two cities.

The company was also asked to remove the city's telephone number from its bills. City Clerk Nona Walls said they receive a number of complaints and the city has no way of assisting customers.

Goetz said Falcon is also planning to expand the times cable workers can be reached for problems. The company currently has workers on hand from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will be expanding that to 7 p.m. Goetz said eventually the company will have someone on hand round the clock.

The company has to rely on an answering service to field calls after hours now.

In other city business, two citizens complained to the council about a stack of railroad ties near their neighborhood. The ties are similar to the ones that burned at the Sikeston Creosoting plant last week and are giving off a disturbing odor during the afternoon.

Robert Phipps of 812 Main St. said he was checked Monday morning at Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau for health problems that may be related to the fumes. Christine McGee of 203 Bell St. said she has been having health problems as well.

Mayor Jerry Cummins asked Fire Chief Les Crump and City Attorney Frank Siebert to find out what can be done.